Soyuz move readies ISS for newcomers

The crew of the International Space Station took a short ride overnight.

Commander Bill McArthur and flight engineer Valery Tokarev moved the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that brought them to the station from one docking port to another.

The relocation makes way for the arrival of Expedition 13 on March 31. The replacement crew is set to blast off from Kazakhstan on March 29.

The Soyuz has been the prime method of carrying crews to and from the station during the lengthy grounding of the U.S. space shuttle fleet. The Soyuz spacecraft have been the lifeboats for station tenants since the start of the program.

Tokarev piloted the Soyuz out of its docking spot on the Zarya module and maneuvered to the rear end of the Zvezda Service Module.